A Texas doctor who calls himself a whistleblower on transgender care for minors is accused of illegally obtaining private information about patients at the nation's largest children's hospital who were not under his care.
Federal prosecutors said Dr. Eithan Haim, a 34-year-old surgeon, took the information and shared it with a conservative activist with “the intent to cause malicious harm” to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
Haim pleaded not guilty in federal court Monday to four counts of unlawfully obtaining individually identifiable health information.
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Haim, a surgeon from Dallas, previously did some work at Texas Children's Hospital as part of his residency. The suit against Haim alleges that in 2023 he asked to reactivate his login there to access information about pediatric patients not under his care, including names, treating physicians and treatment codes, and then provided the information to a media contact transferred.
Haim has publicly identified himself as the person who gave information about patients at Texas Children's to a conservative activist who published a story that the hospital was secretly providing transgender care to minors. At the time, transgender care for minors was legal in Texas, but the hospital had announced in 2022 that it would stop providing gender-affirming therapies.
Texas lawmakers banned transgender care for minors in September 2023. That law is being challenged in court.
At least 25 states have passed laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, and most of those states are facing lawsuits.
Haim faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. He was released on a $10,000 bond.
“I have maintained from day one that I have done nothing wrong. We are going to fight this tooth and nail and stand up for whistleblowers everywhere,” Haim said outside the courthouse on Monday.
Texas Children's declined to comment on the charges against Haim. In previous statements, hospital officials said the doctors have always provided care within the law.
